A 24-year-old Aurora man has been charged, and a stolen vehicle was recovered, after a carjacking in the city on Saturday afternoon, according to the Aurora Police Department.
At around 4:04 p.m. Saturday, officers responded to the area of South Farnsworth Avenue and Summerlin Drive in Aurora, according to a news release from the Aurora Police Department.
Preliminary investigation indicates that a man stopped his vehicle after another vehicle struck his from behind, the news release from the police department said. When he exited, one man allegedly punched and kicked him in the face, while a second man pushed him, police said.
The two men then fled in the victim’s vehicle and the vehicle they had arrived in, according to the police department. The victim sought treatment at a local hospital and was later released, the release said.
While police officers interviewed witnesses, Critical Incident Intelligence Center personnel reviewed license plate reader data and city camera footage and identified the stolen vehicle traveling with a second vehicle, the police department said. That established the second vehicle’s registration, which was associated with a home in the 500 block of Grand Avenue, where officers found both vehicles, per the release.
Officers then established a perimeter around the home, and crisis negotiators and the police department’s Special Response Team also responded to assist, the news release stated.
At around 8:52 p.m., Thomas Kovach, 24, of Aurora, voluntarily exited the home and was taken into custody, the police department said.
The second man, however, remained inside, despite efforts over several hours to persuade him to exit, the police department said in the release. After detectives obtained a search warrant, the Special Response Team entered and took him into custody at around 11:39 p.m., about seven hours after officers first arrived at the home, police said.
Kovach has since been charged with vehicular hijacking, possession of a stolen motor vehicle, aggravated battery on a public way and mob action, according to the news release from the police department. He remained in custody at the Kendall County Public Safety Center as of Monday, Kendall County detainee records show.
The second man was held on an outstanding criminal warrant, the Aurora Police Department said, and had not been charged in connection with the incident as of Monday. The department said the circumstances surrounding his possible involvement remain under active investigation.
The investigation into the incident remains ongoing, the police department said. The department is asking anyone with information to contact the Aurora Police Department Investigations Division at 630-256-5500.